Misconception
by arianaD
Summary: Zuko, a typical college kid, begins having strange dreams of an alternate reality. However, when this 'other world' becomes his home, he must leave his previous life behind. Many surprises await for him, though, and he isn't as alone as he thought he was. In this new world, Zuko must find his place, and learn of a secret past and unpredictable future.
1. The beginning

*Disclaimer- I own nothing. All credit goes to Mike and Brian.*

Zuko stepped out of his car and walked through the parking lot to the garbage littered side walk, his path barely lit by an old, rusty street light in the center of the small parking lot. He stopped once he reached the doors to his destination, a strip club, "Fantasize". For some odd reason, his four friends decided to meet up with him here for guy's night. Oh well, naked hot chicks involved. I don't mind it, thought Zuko.

The tall, muscular 22 year old opened the black metal door to the club and walked inside. There was a large stage in the center of the room with a woman, probably in her early 20s, climbing up the pole in the center of the stage. Her long, tan legs were wrapped around the pole, her crotch pressed against the hard metal, and her arms grabbing the pole above her to hoist herself up it. The only thing she was wearing was lacy red thongs.

"Damn, she's fine." Zuko whispered to himself, staring at her large breasts that were jiggling with her movement. Men seated at stools around the stage whistled and threw money onto the wood floor in front of the pole. Some even tried to reach out for her.

Zuko looked around the room for his buddies, his ears pounding with the beat of loud, vulgar rap music. He saw Aang and Sokka sitting at a booth at the edge of the average sized club, and walked over to them, glancing at all the barely clothed females in the process.

"Hey, we were waiting for you! Didn't think you were coming, you're an hour late." Sokka smacked Zuko on the back as soon as he sat down at the booth.

"Hey, Zuko! Glad you made it." Aang piped up from his spot at the booth next to Sokka. He was never much for this kind of scene, but he didn't seem to mind it too much at the moment. Probably because he just broke up with his girlfriend a day ago, and it didn't seem wrong to have chicks grinding on you when you were single.

"Where are Haru and Teo?" Zuko half yelled to Sokka, the music getting louder as a new song came on.

"Getting drinks." Sokka pointed over to the bar at the back of the large room.

"I think I'll go join them." Zuko added before getting up and walking to the bar.

He sat down next to Teo, who was talking to the woman sitting next to him.

"Sorry, sweetie, I don't work here. I came for the women." Zuko overheard the short, but still sexy blonde girl Teo was talking to say with a smile.

"Oh! Oh. Sorry, I didn't know." Teo blushed.

"No biggie, it happens a lot." The woman said, standing up from the bar stool, kissing Teo on the cheek, and then walking away with her martini.

"Too bad, right Teo?" Zuko said with a smirk after the brown haired guy sat there for a minute, in thought.

Teo whipped around and almost head butted Zuko until he realized who it was.

"Hey, hey buddy! Did you see Aang and Sokka? I think they're still at that table over there." Teo said. It was quieter over by the bar, so having a conversation was quite a bit easier.

"Yeah, I said hi, they said you and Haru were over here. The only one I don't see is Haru."

"Oh, he left. His girlfriend called him a few minutes ago." Teo told him after ordering the two some drinks.

Zuko hoped nothing unfortunate happened between Haru and his girlfriend, the girl was a sweetheart and Teo could be, well…an asshole a lot of times.

"Aang and Sokka give you your present?" Teo said, sipping from his scotch as soon as the bartender put it on the wooden counter in front of him.

"What present? Why would…Oh, my birthday. I nearly forgot." Zuko responded.

The waitress pushed a tall glass of tequila in his direction and Zuko did not hesitate to chug it down. Whenever Aang and Sokka plan a present, it usually ends in Zuko waking up naked on a hotel roof, with his head shaved and stacks of dollar bills lying around him or some crazy shit like that. No joke.

"Come on, it's not as bad as last years." Teo said, as if reading Zuko's mind. He laughed a bit and then stood up from his bar stool.

Zuko got up and followed Teo back to the table after ordering another drink. Once he sat down, the three other men looked at him.

"Should we sing to him?" Sokka said in a humorous tone.

"No, you shou-"

"Happy Birthday too you" Sokka, Aang, and Teo started singing loudly.

"NO, I SAID NO SI-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOO YOU"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU CHOKE ON MY FOOT" Zuko yelled, annoyed. Surprisingly nobody was staring at them, yet.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ZUKO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" Zuko sat in his seat and growled, glaring at the three.

Aang, Sokka, and Teo burst out laughing.

"Come on Zuko, we're just kidding with ya'. Nobody heard it, anyways." Teo laughed.

Zuko looked around and noticed not one person was staring.

"You're lucky." If looks could kill, the three guys would be on the floor, drowning in their own blood.

"Where is she? I told her to come out after we sang happy birthday.." Sokka started, talking to Aang in a quiet but still audible voice.

"What? Who? What are you guys talking about?" Oh boy. Time to get nervous, Zuko thought. Great. Good thing I brought my phone in case I end up on another fucking roof and can't get down.

"Zuko, stay here! We'll be back in a bit." Sokka, Aang, and Teo stood up, Aang, Sokka and Teo smirking. The three walked off into a darkly lit hallway in the back of the club by the bar.

"I'll go get her, you two go out to the car and start it." Aang told Teo and Sokka.

The two gave him a questionable look but didn't argue. Aang walked up to a black, rusty door at the end of the hallway with the words 'Employees Only' in large, yellow letters across it. He didn't hear any noise coming from inside, so he opened it and walked in. The woman Sokka and Teo paid to dance for Zuko was supposed to be waiting for him in here. He looked around and saw some undergarments and clothing strewn about on the floor and hanging from locker doors. He shook his head. These girls should find some other way to pay for college or whatever the hell they needed money for.

Sitting on the floor, leaning against the cinderblock wall, he spotted who he was looking for. The girl had headphones on, her eyes closed and arms above her head. Aang walked up to her and touched her shoulder. One of the girl's eyes cracked open, a bright, shimmering blue. Her tight navy blue crop top accentuated them, and so did the bright blue glitter sprinkled on her chest, stomach, and thighs. Now he could tell why her stage name was Sapphire.

"You guys ready? Where's he sittin'?" She asked in a soft voice, pulling her headphones off and her iPod out of god knows where in her tight black mini skirt.

Uhm, yeah…he's alone in one of the booths..drinking...you'll know him when you see him..." Aang gulped, staring at her ass while she was shoving stuff into a locker and then locking it. Damn, she was hot.

Sapphire turned around and noticed where he was staring. He quickly adverted his eyes and looked directly into hers.

"What's his name?" the dark skinned, medium height brunette asked.

"Zuko." Aang said before walking out and joining Sokka and Teo in the car outside.

…..

Zuko sat alone at the table, taking occasional sips of his drink, watching everyone. He saw Sokka and Teo walk back out from the dark hallway and leave the strip club.

"That's odd…" Zuko mumbled under his breath.

A few minutes later, Aang walked out as well and left.

"What the hell..?" Zuko was getting curious now. You can't really have a birthday party alone, so why'd they leave? He was staring down at his drink when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a woman, most likely younger than him, wearing a dark blue crop top and a black mini skirt with stiletto heels covered in blue sparkles that matched her eyes, looking intently at him.

She smirked. "Are you Zuko?" She asked, unbuttoning the top button of her top. He could see a decent amount of cleavage, even in the dim lighting.

"Yeah, who's asking?" He responded in a rough voice.

"The names Sapphire and you look like you could use some company." Sapphire winked at him and hopped up onto the table. He stared at her blankly as she smiled a seductive grin at him. The next song started and she began slowly moving to the rhythm, dancing around the metal pole extending from the center of the table. As soon as the lyrics started for the song, she slid down against the pole, her legs wide open, her crotch not too far from Zuko's face.

Sapphire started moving faster around the pole. She hooked one leg around the pole and fell backwards, then spun back up and grabbed the pole. She jumped up, tangled her legs around the pole, and slid down it, the cold, shiny metal pressed against her crotch. She laid on the table, rubbing her legs, and then pulling off the mini skirt to reveal red boy shorts. She threw the mini skirt across the table so that it was right in front of Zuko and then moved so she was kneeling, her ass in front of Zuko and started moving her ass up and down.

Zuko was already sweating. His pants got tighter as she continued dancing. Through the song, her crop top came off to reveal a red bra that was slightly see through. You could see the outline of perky, dark nipples on her average sized breasts. Her breasts bounced as she moved quickly around the pole.

Damn.

Then off came her bra, thrown in Zuko's direction. And the shorts, too. The only thing she was wearing now was a black thong. Near the end of the song, the girl got off the table and knelt down on Zuko, her breasts pressing against Zuko's chest. Zuko could feel the outline of her hard nipples through his long sleeve black shirt. He had a full blown boner now, and this girl wasn't helping. She moved her hips against him then got up and pressed her ass against his crotch and moved her ass on top of him.

Zuko sighed. It felt so good, but his pants were so tight it hurt.

The song ended, and Sapphire sat down next to him.

"Satisfied?" She said in his ear, voice thick with lust.

Zuko nodded and smirked.

The hot, dark skinned, blue eyed girl sat on Zuko's lap and grabbed the clothes she'd taken off. Then she positioned herself so she was kneeling over Zuko's legs and pulled her crop top on and buttoned it up, giving him a good view of her breasts. Then she stood up, pulled her shorts on, and told Zuko to come back again if he wanted more.

Zuko stood up awkwardly. Damn. His boner was obvious. Very obvious. He couldn't go out and look for the guys like this. Zuko walked into the bathroom and washed his hands then splashed his face with cold water. He sidetracked his mind and started thinking about what the guys were planning on doing next. His boner went away after a few minutes, so he walked out of the club and into the parking lot and saw the guys in Teo's car, passing around a bottle of something. He walked over to his car, made sure it was locked, and then went over to Teo's car and opened the back seat door and sat down.

"How was the dance?" Teo looked back from the front seat with a smirk.

"Satisfying." Zuko responded, looking out the window at the passing cars. It was pretty busy tonight.

The other guys laughed.

"So, where to, birthday boy?" Aang asked from the passenger seat.

"Let's go to the liquor store. And the gas station. Then we can go back to my place."

…

Two hours later, after buying $60 in alcohol at the local liquor store, a shitload of food at Walmart, and returning to Zuko's house, the four guys were in Zuko's back yard, launching fireworks at each other and drinking beer.

"I'M HIT! I'M HIT! IM DYYINGGG!" Aang screamed, running through Zuko's large back yard, scorch marks on his back. Sokka fell off his lawn chair laughing, and Teo grabbed more roman candles off the patio.

"Zuko, get your ass over here! Sokka's too drunk, and Aang lost last round!" Teo grabbed his lighter from his pocket and prepared himself.

Zuko got up from his seat on the patio and walked to the yard about 30 feet in front of Teo after grabbing a few Roman candle wands.

"GO!" Teo yelled. Zuko quickly lit his projectiles with his lighter and waited a few seconds for some to shoot out. Teo's started first, and he aimed them at Zuko. Zuko jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit and launched his at Teo. One nearly hit him but was aimed too high. Teo lit his second wand after missing Zuko with all of the shots in the first one. Zuko did the same. This went on for about half an hour, Zuko getting hit three times and Teo getting hit none. Once the two were out, they both fell on the ground and started laughing.

"I'm gonna….go….get more whiskers.." Sokka slurred from his drunken stupor. Aang, who was now sitting on a chair in the patio, having recovered from being burnt, laughed. So did Teo and Zuko, knowing Sokka meant whiskey and not whiskers.

…..

Sokka walked into the kitchen and looked at the two bottles of whiskey lying sideways on the marble counter. Both of which were empty.

"What? No…" Sokka looked at them. Then he looked around the room for more. Leaning against the wall, next to the sliding glass door leading out to the patio, was an extremely large, thick, tube, with a dragon's head on the top of it.

"What's this?" Sokka walked over to it and kicked it over. On the side, it had a large warning label.

Sokka laughed and carried it upstairs to Zuko's bedroom window, nearly falling down the stairs a few times.

…

"Aang, is there any more vodka left?" Teo asked. Teo didn't drink very much so far that night, which is probably why he won the Roman candle war.

"Uhm…I think so, Zuko is the only other one who drinks it…" Aang responded.

Just before Teo got up to go check the kitchen for remaining bottles of vodka, they heard the sliding sound of a window coming from upstairs in Zuko's bedroom.

"Guys, watch the pretty colors!" Sokka giggled. The moon was illuminating the sky, which is the only way Zuko could see the outline of the dragon head of the firework he'd illegally bought off his cousin a week ago. He was waiting until New Years to use it, at his cousin's party.

"Ohhhhh shit." Zuko said.

"Sokka, that's not a good idea!" Zuko yelled, standing up to walk inside and pull the firework away from Sokka.

"Here it comes!" Sokka yelled. He disappeared from the window for a minute and then they could see him sprint down the stairs.

"Fuck. Damn it!" Zuko knew there was nothing he could do.

"What is that..?" Teo asked. He could almost swear it was a firework, but wasn't sure.

Just before Zuko could answer, a streak of orange and red shot out from the canister and headed for the sky. It traveled for a few seconds, and then disappeared.

BOOM.

An extremely loud noise rang through the air, as multiple explosions took place in the dark night sky. Brilliant explosions of yellow took over the sky, and then bright orange, and a fiery red. Altogether, it looked as if a flame had taken over the sky. Finally, it stopped for a second. And then another giant explosion took place, and blew vibrant flames of purple through the air that rained down and changed into a bright blue shade that eventually disappeared.

That blue….

Zuko's mind wandered to that girl from earlier in the night. Sapphire. That was her name. At least, her stage name. I wonder, what's her real name?

"WHOOOO HOOO HOOO!" Yelled Aang, getting up from the ground and dancing.

"Now that is a firework!" Teo got up and danced with Aang.

Hopefully no neighbors called the cops, but Zuko didn't live very close to anyone, anyways.

"That. Was awesome!" Sokka slurred, walking up to the three from his spot on the patio where he stood and watched the firework after coming downstairs. He tripped on his way to them, though, and fell on the ground. He then puked on Zuko's shoes.

"Sorry, Zuko…didn't mean for that to happen..." Sokka got up and walked a distance away to the hammock in Zuko's yard, laid down in it, and didn't get back up. Zuko assumed he'd fallen asleep.

Zuko sighed and kicked his shoes off, then threw them onto the patio. Aang and Teo were both lying down in patio loungers, talking about something. Zuko walked away from the puke to the outdoor couch on the patio, laid down, and drifted off to a world of black.

…..

Zuko opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around and was in an unfamiliar place. It was warm, and humid, with lush green grass and the air smelled of cherry blossoms and heat. There was a pond with rocks-stepping stones, maybe- near where he was sitting. There was a cherry blossom tree, pink flowers falling from it with the wind, near the pond. A few of the petals were on the calm water of the pond. Flowers were growing around the pond and the white walls with ornate roofs that held the garden. A small bridge went over a thinner section of the pond. A porch was in front of part of the pond, with rich red columns and a stone floor. The place was unfamiliar; Zuko had never seen anything like it. But he wasn't worried; he felt calm here.

On the edge of the porch, feet barely touching the calm water of the pond, sat a woman with snow white hair and dark skin. She looked up at Zuko and smiled. Her eyes were large, and ocean blue. Her lips were pinkish tinted, and so were her cheeks. Her skin was a milk chocolate color. She had feminine features, and was beautiful. An exotic, new, different kind of beautiful. She was mesmerizing.

"You've come to see me. I knew you we're different." She spoke softly.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Zuko asked her, his voice a bit rough. He cleared his throat.

"Somewhere you'll see again, if you are what I believe you to be. And, I'm a friend." The woman spoke.

"Uhm..Okay. Why am I here?" Zuko couldn't help but stare at her.

"Walk with me." The woman stood up, adjusting her white robes, which had silver streaks in the fabric so small you couldn't see them but the robe shimmered. It reminded him of the moon.

"Would you consider yourself different?" The woman asked, walking along a stone path outside of the garden. You could see down into a large valley from outside the garden walls, and a bay. A large town, with architecture similar to that inside the garden, covered most of the valley. Exotic trees and flowers littered the hills around the town and some of the spots near the town. The sun was large and bright, bigger than normal.

"Not..not especially. I'm a typical 24 year old. Going to college, drinking, partying, clubbing. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Do you wish to be different? Do you ever feel…caged? As if you have a potential you cannot understand or grasp?"

Zuko could relate. He always felt like there was something more that he could never get his hands on.

The stone path went on, leading around a very ornate building.

"Yeah. I do. What's that have to do with anything?" Zuko stopped walking and stared at the woman.

"You wouldn't understand if I told you."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes before finally reaching a large golden door. There was a small fountain in front of the doors, a pale white colored statue on top of it, of a man with his palm outstretched. However, the fountain had fire moving through it; not water.

How..?

"Tell me, Zuko, do you feel…"

"The fire?"

He looked into the eyes of the woman, wondering what in the hell she was talking about.

But before he could ask, everything flashed red and orange, and burnt like Zuko had never felt before.

Then it all went black.

…

Buh-buh-buh-duhhhh! XD So, did you guys enjoy it? Cliffhanger! This was originally intended to be a one-shot, but then I had an awesome idea for a story. If you were wondering, the one part of the story about Zuko's previous birthday was sort of inspired by the hangover. Some of the characters might be a bit off character, but that's just how the beginning of the story is. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think! :D

Peace out, homies!


	2. Destiny, or Something Like That

*disclaimer- I own nothing, all credit goes to mike and brian*

After the first dream, Zuko kept having strange sensations. Sometimes his insides would be warm, as if the sun was shining on them while his skin stayed cool to the touch. His fingertips would tingle, yearning for something that Zuko couldn't comprehend.

"Zuko, you okay?" Aang questioned him, while Zuko sat there tapping his fingertips against the wooden desk rather forcefully in biology, trying to make his fingers satisfied.

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah, just bored I guess." Zuko responded, nonchalantly. Sokka had commented on his odd behavior before, too.

By the time it was the last class of the day, trigonometry, Zuko's whole body was tingling, and overly warm. However he wasn't sweating, surprisingly, and much to his disappointment because the only thing on his mind right now was taking every single piece of clothing off and jumping in a nearly frozen creek.

"Can you stop that tapping, please? It's very distracting." The brown haired girl sitting next to him whispered to him, after enduring his tapping for a bit over half the class.

"Sorry." Zuko responded, also in a whisper, and then tried to sit still for the rest of the extremely boring lecture the professor was giving the class on concepts of trigonometry.

After five minutes, Zuko was about ready to give up. It just made time drag on even more than it already does to not be tapping his foot on the concrete floor or fingertips against the desk. The teacher had just finished his lecture, and put a list of algorithms and formulas on the giant promethean board at the front of the room for the students to write down.

Finally, something to do besides sit around and pretend to be listening.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but can I borrow a pencil?" The girl who spoke to Zuko earlier asked him with a kind tone.

"Uhm…yeah, one minute." Zuko reached into his backpack and pulled out two pencils and handed them to the girl.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

After writing all of the required notes down, Zuko looked over to the brown haired, blue eyed girl who was doodling flowers on her paper.

She noticed his eyes trained on her paper after a minute, and then looked over at him.

"Oh! Right. Here you go." She handed him his pencils back.

"Thanks, but you could've kept them."

"Nah, no need too, I would've just lost them in my car or something anyways."

They still had five minutes of class left, but most of the students were done and having quiet conversations with people sitting nearby.

"My names Suki, by the way. It's nice to actually get to talk to you. Usually you're pretty quiet." The brown haired girl turned to him again.

"Names Zuko. Nice to meet you, too." Zuko didn't think he was usually that quiet. She was probably just trying to start conversation.

"Starting conversations is hard, huh? Well..hmmm….what are you getting a degree for?" The woman stated after shoving her notebook and textbook into her small, jade green backpack.

"Mechanical engineering. You?"

"School counseling." Suki replied.

Just then, the final bell of the day signaling the end of the class period was the only sound in Zuko's ears.

About damn time.

Zuko grabbed his backpack containing his textbooks and notebooks and headed for the door.

However, before reaching it, he turned back around.

"Talk to you soon?" He said to Suki, who was behind him in line to get out the door.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." She smiled a bright, warm smile at him that made his insides tingle a bit.

His fingertips began itching. Zuko smiled at her, and then had the strangest sensation he'd ever felt.

"What the hell..?" Zuko lifted both of his hands up to his face to see the fingertips glowing a bright orange color.

"What. The. Actual. Fuck?!" He whispered to himself.

He stood still in the doorway for a minute, holding his books under his arm, staring fixedly at his orange, glowing fingertips that felt hot to touch.

"Stop standing there and get the fuck out of the way!" Coming from someone behind him interrupted his observation of his previously glowing fingers that had now returned to their original pale, white color.

"Sorry." Zuko said loudly and began the walk out of the building and to the parking lot to find his car.

…..

Zuko sighed.

It was around seven thirty, on a Friday, and he hadn't managed to scrape up any plans for the night. Haru was surely with his girlfriend, Teo was probably at the bar or hooking up with some stranger, and Sokka was…well, most likely doing some stupid shit with his other friends.

So that just left Zuko and Aang.

Zuko stood up from the couch and walked to Aang's bedroom. He peeped his head in the door and saw Aang sitting on his bed watching a movie on the flat screen TV that sat on his dresser.

"Aang?"

"Hey, Zuko. What's up?"

"You want to go out tonight? To the club or something?" Zuko questioned while walking into the room and plopping down onto the bed.

"Uhm…sure. This movie is boring, anyways." Aang responded while turning off the TV. He threw the remote on the bed and stood up, went to his dresser, and pulled out some clothes.

"You better get ready, too, Zuko. There's probably already a line to get in."

"Alright. Meet me out in the car in 15."

…

"Ugh. You were right." Zuko mumbled loud enough for Aang to hear.

"Oh well, at least there'll be plenty of hot mama's to dance with!" Aang said, wiggling his eye brows.

They both laughed.

At the front of the steadily growing line infront of the doors stood a tall girl with straight, black hair and vampire skin in mostly black and red clothing.

"No way, it's June! Haha, yes!" Zuko whispered to Aang.

June would surely let them into the club.

"Hey, June!" Zuko and Aang walked up to her.

"Zuko! Hey, long time no see!" She slapped him on the shoulder and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you around here much." Aang piped in. He and June were never particularly close, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be friendly.

"I know, I've been busy with business elsewhere. You two go right in!" June opened the door for them.

"Thanks June! You come in and have some drinks with us, okay?" Zuko looked back at her while walking in the club.

"Yeah, as soon as the line dies down a bit. See ya guys!" And with that, June shut the door to the club.

Zuko took in how packed the club was tonight. The dance floor was nearly full and it was barely eight.

Zuko and Aang walked over to the bar and ordered drinks.

"So, Aang, you want to make any bets on who's going to hook up with a hotter chick tonight?" Zuko sipped from his scotch, looking at Aang.

"Uhm….Might as well, I see myself some fine dames in here." Aang was scanning the dance floor.

After studying the people in the club for a minute or two, he finally agreed. "Alright, whoever brings the hottest girl back to the bar by 9 will get free drinks for them and their lady friend for the rest of the hour."

"Deal." The two shook hands, downed their drinks, and went off to the dance floor to find partners. After ten minutes of dancing with any girl who was around him, Zuko felt the drink kick in and decided to find a girl for the night. He slowly walked off the floor and leaned up against the wall near it.

He spotted two hot chicks dancing with eachother near the edge of the dance floor, which usually means you're waiting for someone to dance with besides your friends. One of the girls was a pale skinned red head, wearing a short, tight black dress. She was moving her hips against her friend's to the beat. Her friend was a black haired girl who was even paler, with nice boobs and a nice ass.

Zuko smiled. If he didn't win, then Aang was sure going to have a hell of a good night.

Slowly, he walked up to the two.

"Excuse me ladies, would one of you care to dance?" Zuko smiled a warm smile at them in hopes of charming them.

The two smiled at him, but shook their heads 'no'.

Damn it.

Zuko decided it was time for another drink, and walked back to the bar.

He sat down next to two girls having a conversation and ordered another scotch.

"There are no available guys here, I swear. None. Every time I ask a guy to dance, his girlfriend just walks right up and starts grinding on him right in front of me."

"Haha! I just don't want any of these guys boning my ass; I get enough of that at work."

Zuko turned slightly to look at both of the girls.

The one turned away from him was was dark skinned, with chocolaty curly hair. She was wearing a mini skirt and a light blue tucked in blouse that showed most of her back and was covered with sequins.

She also had a rather large ass, based on what Zuko could tell being as she was sitting on a bar stool.

The two didn't seem to notice him sitting there and continued on with their conversation.

Zuko looked at the one facing him. She had brown hair but was pale skinned, with blue eyes. Zuko recognized her almost immediately.

"Suki?" Zuko asked as soon as there was silence between the two girls.

She moved to see behind her friend.

"Zuko? Surprise seeing you here! I didn't know you went to the clubs." Suki's friend turned to look at him, and when she did Zuko immediately recognized her.

The girl from the strip club! His eyes widened a bit but he quickly looked to Suki again in hopes the girl wouldn't notice.

"I didn't have any plans so I figured I'd just come here with my friend, Aang. I don't suppose one of you wants to dance, do you? I've been looking for a partner since I got here, but none of them seem to be here alone." Zuko said between gulps of his drink.

"Well, I would love t-oh! Zuko, this is Katara, my friend from high school. She goes to TSA."

Zuko looked back at the bright eyed, brown skin girl. There was no mistaking it, she was the stripper from the club last week.

So, apparently her name was Katara and not Sapphire, and she went to Tritinfey School of the Arts.

Interesting.

Zuko snapped back to real life and smiled at her.

"Hey there, my name's Zuko, nice to meet you." He reached out for her hand and she shook it.

"I'm Katara, nice to meet you, too." She smirked at him.

"Katara, do you mind if me and Zuko go dance?" Suki finished her drink and stood up.

"No, go ahead. Meet back here around 9, okay?" Katara told the two.

"Alright, see you then!" Zuko grabbed Suki's hand and led her deeper into the dance floor.

…

Aang thought he was really lucky tonight. That is, until the babe he was dancing with went to the bathroom and didn't come out for twenty minutes, most likely avoiding him.

"Damn it. Now I'm going to have to spend a fuckton of money on drinks for Zuko and his lady friend, if he found one."

Time for a drink. Or two. Maybe three. If he was drunk enough, maybe he'd get sick and Zuko wouldn't make him pay for the drinks.

He sat down a seat away from a brown haired girl who sat there, playing with the umbrella in her drink.

"Can I have a strawberry daiquiri? And could you put it in a cup instead of a cocktail glass? Thanks."

Aang decided to order something not as harsh as scotch or brandy. Besides, girly drinks were delicious.

He heard a giggle from a seat away, and looked over. The brown haired girl was looking at him with a small smile playing at her lips.

"What? They're absolutely fantastic." Aang smiled back at her.

"That's true. I'm just surprised you ordered one. Usually guys make their girlfriends do it for them."

"Nah, no need for that. I don't understand the big deal about guys ordering fruity drinks." Aang responded. Truthfully, he enjoyed fruity drinks more than the 'manly' ones. But that was just him.

The brown hair girl moved to the seat next to him.

"My names Katara. Yours is..?"

"Aang. Nice to meet you, Katara." Aang shook her hand politely and then took sips of his drink.

"You look to be about my age; are you a college student?" Katara asked him, still playing with the umbrella in her drink.

"Yeah, I go to TCC. You?" Aang looked at her, and noticed she was slightly familiar. But, I don't think I've met her before…

"TSA. I'm getting a degree in dance and choreography."

Aang smiled. Maybe Zuko would be buying his drinks, afterall.

"That's cool, that you like dancing. But, why are you at a club and not dancing then?"

"Nobody decent asked me to dance yet." Katara downed her drink after saying this as if she didn't want to remember it.

"Am I decent?" Aang asked with a cute smile.

Katara looked at him, a blush staining her cheeks, with a smile.

"Let's go." She grabbed his hand and walked to the dance floor with him.

….

Zuko and Suki kept it mostly friendly.

For a few minutes, anyways.

Suki, however, was the one who initiated the more than friendly contact, so Zuko just went with it.

They two danced for nearly forty five minutes, grinding against each other to the beat of the loud music.

A sheer layer of sweat covered Zuko from the exertion of dancing.

The speakers in the walls were blaring, so he tapped Suki on the shoulder and pulled her off the dance floor.

"It's nine, we should go back to the bar and get some drinks and see if Aang is there." Zuko spoke loudly to make sure Suki could hear him over the music.

"Okay." Suki grabbed the back of his shirt as they walked through the crowd so she didn't lose him. Back at the bar, Aang was nowhere to be found, so they both decided to sit down and have a drink.

"I'm surprised you can dance that well." Suki smiled at Zuko, sipping some tropical drink Zuko couldn't identify.

"Well, I've picked up on it from the many times I've been here." Zuko smiled at her. Suki was really nice, it's a shame he never talked to her much before.

"I wonder where Katara went. Probably found someone to dance with." Suki said nonchalantly, tapping her fingers on the counter.

"Probably." Zuko was glad he finally got to know her name. He still couldn't forget her from the club. It's not as if it was the first time he'd met a stripper or anything. Katara just seemed…different.

"Hey Zuko!" Zuko looked behind him and saw Aang standing with Katara next to him, both a bit sweaty and slightly out of breath.

"I told you you'd find someone to dance with, Katara." Suki smirked at her friend.

Katara blushed and looked away.

Damn, she was hot.

"Aang, this is Suki, she's in my trig class." Zuko gestured to Suki.

"Hey, you're in my language class, too. Nice to meet you." Aang shook her hand.

"Oh. yeah, I thought you looked familiar." Suki smiled at him.

Zuko realized that Aang was giving him the look of accomplishment.

"Can I have two drinks for my friends?" Zuko asked the bartender.

"Yeah, what you two want?" The man asked Aang and Katara.

"Two strawberry Daiquiri's, please." Aang told the man.

Interesting, Aang knows what drinks she likes.

The four started a conversation about college and partying, and then spent the last hour of the night playing drinking games.

"Alright, Katara vs. Zuko! Here's a bottle of tequila for each of you. First one to down it, wins!" Aang handed them each 16 oz. bottles of tequila.

Katara and Zuko both uncapped theirs and held it to their lips, ready to begin.

"Go!"

Zuko began chugging as fast as he could, while Aang and Suki pounded on the table they were sitting at, encouraging them.

"Come on Zuko, you got this! You got this!"

The bottle was halfway gone in less than two minutes. Zuko stopped for a second to belch and then continued chugging.

Almost there…

"FINISHED!" Suki slammed her hands down on the table as soon as Katara set her bottle down.

"We win! Hahahaha!" Suki, being a bit more than drunk smile and began dancing around the table.

"Whoo hoo!" Katara got up and joined them.

"Guys, the bar is closing, I need the glasses and bottles back." The bartender walked up to their table with a tray and set all the glasses and empty bottles on it.

"Thanks, and goodnight." Zuko whispered to the guy in a seductive voice.

The bartender gave him a creepy look and walked away.

Aang, Zuko, and Katara burst out laughing.

"Did….you see….his face?!" Aang said between fits of laughter.

"Oh my god Zuko, he wants the D!" Katara was laughing without stop and was tearing up a bit.

There weren't many people in the club, as it was closing time soon.

"Well, I think it's time to go home, Aang. We should meet up here again, sometime." Zuko looked at Katara and Suki.

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Zuko, I can't drive, neither can you. We have to call someone." Aang walked out of the club, Zuko trailing behind. Suki and Katara followed them.

Once out in the street, Zuko pulled out his cell phone.

"I'll call Haru. He always is up at this time, anyways." Zuko dialed Haru's number and put the phone to his ear.

No answer.

No answer the second time he called, either.

Katara and Suki were sitting on a bench outside the club, giggling about something.

"You guys could come to our house! It'll be fun!" Katara said in a weird voice.

"Uhm…You're both drunk, how are you guys going to get home?" Aang joined them on the bench.

"We walk, silly. Our house is right down there." Suki pointed down the street.

"Oh. Well, if you really don't mind us crashing at your place."

"Of course not, Aang!" Katara piped in.

"Zuko, come on." The three got up off the bench and began walking down the street.

Katara and Suki both took their shoes off and held them in one of their hands while skipping around on the street, singing "Oh he's a jolly good fellow".

Suki tripped and fell on top of Katara, making Aang and Zuko laugh.

"Suki, that's gonna' cost you! You know it's extra to touch!" Katara giggled from under her friend.

"I can pay you in sexual favors, babe!" Suki tried to get up off Katara but stumbled.

After walking a ways more, they came across a large apartment complex.

"Here we are!" Katara threw her arms out infront of the building.

Then she opened one of the doors and began running very slowly up the steps.

The other three followed suit.

The apartment Suki and Katara lived in was moderately sized, with two large bedrooms, both with its own bathroom, a kitchen, and a sizeable living room with a large TV and a plush couch.

"Dibs on the couch!" Aang plopped down on it as soon as he saw it. He was fast asleep in no time.

"Okay, Zuko can sleep on the counter, then." Suki giggled, taking her jacket off and hanging it up on a hook near the door.

"What..?" Zuko gave her an odd look.

"I was just kidding, you can sleep in my bed with me!" Suki grabbed his hand and skipped down the hallway, pulling him along.

"Uhm…" As soon as the two entered the room, Suki jumped onto her bed and curled up under the blankets.

Zuko kicked his shoes off and set them by the door. Katara was watching him from the hallway.

"Don't try anything on her, she's always like this when she's drunk."

Katara walked into the adjacent bedroom and shut the door.

Zuko turned around, and being the polite gentleman that he is, grabbed two unused pillows and a blanket off of Suki's bed, threw them on the floor, laid down, and fell asleep.

….

"Zuko."

Zuko's eyes opened slowly, revealing a large, gold colored room with red column and dark red drapes covering large windows. He was laying on a soft, plush mattress with silky red sheets.

Then it hit him; this is definitely not where he fell asleep at.

He shot up from the bed, but relaxed when he saw a familiar white haired girl standing next to the bed.

"Good, you're awake. I have something to show you, Zuko."

Zuko watched her leave the room.

He still didn't know her name.

Deciding it was wise to follow her, her jogged out the door way into the hallway to catch up with her.

"Can I ask you, what's your name?" Zuko questioned attentively. He still didn't know much about this woman, but he know she could probably hurt him if she wanted to.

"Yue."

The rest of the walk was silent between the two. Zuko was too busy examining the large paintings on the walls to talk.

Most of them portrayed men toying with fire; shooting from their palms, their feet. Their fingertips.

Zuko remembered what happened in school today, and rubbed his fingertips together.

Yue stopped walking and was opening a large set of red doors. They looked awfully heavy for a smaller girl like her to open them with that much ease. But, hey. It's just a dream.

"Zuko, do you remember when I asked if you felt the fire?" Yue asked him while walking out into a sunny field.

"Yeah." Zuko was looking down at the shore of the beach that was down by the town, watching people load cargo into boats and walk around.

"You've felt it, have you not?" Zuko looked back at Yue who was now wearing only wrappings across her chest and legs, her blue and white robe hanging from a nearby tree.

"I..I think so. In my fingers..and my hands. They tingle, and even glow."

Yue smiled at him.

"Yes, that is the fire. Zuko, I want to show you something." Yue took a stance, as if she were about to do jitsu or something. She began moving her arms, and an orb of water floated up from a small pond near the tree.

"What..?How?" Zuko stared in disbelieve. Yue continued to gracefully move her arms about, the stream of water coming closer to them.

"Zuko, I was born with a gift; the ability to manipulate water. Others have this gift, too. Some can manipulate air, and earth. Even fire."

"So, in my dreams people have the ability to manipulate the elements? Then why were my fingers glowing at school?" Zuko looked down at his hands again.

Yue looked at him and let her water fall to the ground. She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Zuko, this is not just a dream. You like to believe the simplest of things, but this isn't just a dream. This is another world; not a meaningless dream. This is where you belong, Zuko. And you will get the choice to be here soon enough. You are one of the few people who has a double spirit; You can chose to live in either the universe of the avatar, or the universe of the creator. But, if you keep believing this is simply a dream and not real, then you will not get a choice. You will not fulfill your destiny, Zuko."

Yue's eyes were the last thing Zuko saw before everything turned black.

And it began to burn, once again.

…

What did you guys think? Did you like it? Please leave comments if you have the time, and thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoy and, and stick around for the next chapter! :)

Peace out, homies


	3. An Easier than Wanted Decision

*Disclaimer – I obviously do not own Avatar: The Last Air bender. All credit for it goes to Mike and Brian*

Katara groggily rubbed her eyes where she lay, comfy in her queen size bed.

She smacked her lips, and tried to recall the events of last night.

"Ugh-uhhhnnn." The dark skinned, brown haired girl rolled over in bed and quickly put her hands to her throbbing head.

Apparently, she was drunk last night, and would be spending most of today with a hangover.

The wafting smell of fried eggs, ham, and bacon hit her nose and she suddenly realized how hungry she was.

"Katara, get up. It's eleven. We were supposed to do some shit today, remember?" Suki said from the doorway.

Katara opened her eyes, sat up, and got out of bed.

"Are they still here?"

Katara had fully remembered the events of last night, including the time they spent with Zuko and Aang.

"Yeah. Aang's making breakfast and Zuko is drinking all our water." Suki said with a smile.

The brown skinned beauty walked out to the kitchen and sat down next to Zuko.

"Good morning." Zuko said in a hoarse voice.

"Hey. Aang, why are you cooking? That's really kind of you." Katara was impressed with how nice the two guys are; usually dudes her age were douchebags.

"It's no big deal, you guys did let us stay here the night. And eggs, bacon, pancakes, and French toast. There's probably gonna' be a bit left over." Aang said while dumping some eggs onto four separate plates. He then put two pancakes, a piece of French toast, and three strips of bacon on all of the plates.

"Thank you, Aang." Suki said kindly while pouring glasses of orange juice for everyone. Aang brought the plates over and sat them down in front of everyone.

…..

"So….Aang asked me for my number. Any opinions?" Katara said nervously from the passenger seat of Suki's car. The two were headed to the movie theater to see 'The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug'. It had been Katara's favorite book series since 8th grade.

Suki smiled. "He's a nice guy, so far. It's a good thing, in my opinion. I think Zuko was going to ask my number until you told Aang I don't have a cellphone and he could just call the landline."

"How long have you known Zuko? You never mentioned him before, but you knew him at the club."

"Well we never really talked until yesterday in class. But we've had school together since the beginning of the year."

"So in the…nearly six months you've known him, you never bothered to talk to him?" Katara questioned, slightly suspicious of Suki and Zuko's relationship that she'd never told her about.

"Yeah, pretty much. He never seemed friendly and I was more focused on learning than socializing." Suki was being honest; Zuko was never one to really socialize, the only people he talked to were some other guys along with Aang.

"Okay then."

Suki pulled into the movie theater's parking lot and parked the car.

"I think we're early, there aren't many cars out here." Katara opened her door, got out, and grabbed her leather purse off of the floor in front of the seat.

"Well then we can get the best seats, right?" Suki said from behind Katara, waiting for her to shove some candy boxes and sodas into her purse that they'd bought at the store earlier.

"I guess so."

….

Zuko's point of view from here on out

…

"It's too cold for the beach."

"What about the club?"

"We were there last night."

"Not that one, the one we went to for your birthday."

"You can go by yourself, but I'm not going with you guys."

"Hmmm...The bar?"

"I'm going to go study; you guys can go to the bar." Zuko got up off the couch where Aang, Sokka, and Haru were sitting.

They had tried to convince him to go out with him tonight, but Zuko just wanted to stay home and not get shitfaced.

"Fine. Talk to you later, we're heading out." Sokka said before the three walked out the door.

Finally. Peace and quiet.

Zuko grabbed his lighter and put some incense sticks into an old soda can on his desk and lit them.

"hmmm…what to do."

Zuko had lied a bit when he said he had to study; there was nothing for him to study.

"Zuko."

What the fuck?

Zuko whipped his head around, looking for the source of the sound.

"Zuko."

He stood still for a minute, waiting for the sound of footsteps or breathing.

"Zuko, come here."

Zuko grabbed the baseball bat he kept under his bed and slowly walked out of his bedroom.

First he checked Aang's room for the thing or person saying his name.

Nothing.

"Zuko. You're looking in the wrong places."

He walked out of the bedroom and saw something on the couch.

"What the hell- Yue? What the fuck? I'm not dreaming, am I?" Zuko dropped the bat on the floor as soon as he realized it was Yue sitting on the couch, toying with some kind of floating orb. After looking closer, Zuko realized it was an orb of water.

"No, Zuko, you are not dreaming. But, I had to tell you something important, so I came here. You don't need to be asleep for me to watch you or talk to you; it's just easier that way."

Zuko walked around the couch and sat down next to Yue.

"Zuko, you are required to make a decision, right now."

Zuko gave her an odd look. What was she talking about? Surely not about the crossover, that wouldn't happen only a few weeks after having the dreams.

"The spirits are in desperate need of help; we haven't many other two spirits in our world, as you already know, but we need one. Desperately." Yue's eyes were glazing over, as if she were about to cry.

"Wait. Why do you need a two spirit?" Zuko was becoming concerned; surely she didn't want him to just up and leave his life to come to her world.

"The spirits cannot be reached by anyone but two spirits and the avatar. I do not know exactly why. You don't have to permanently enter our world. I do not know how long this quest will take, though. Zuko, I beg you. Everyone in my world will suffer greatly; the spirits are a vital part of our world."

Zuko sat there for a minute. He wasn't sure if this was a joke, a dream, or a hallucination.

"Uhm…okay. I guess….I'll do it. If it really is as important as you say it is, I'll do it." Zuko said seriously, looking Yue in the eyes.

"Thank you, Zuko! Thank you so much!" Yue hugged him tightly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"We must go; you need training in bending and in weapons, and information on what your mission is. Come on."

"Wait, don't I have to go to sleep first or something?" Yue pulled Zuko to his feet and took both of his hands.

"No, if you are with me you can freely travel through universes and dimensions."

Before Zuko could ask any more questions, white streaks began dancing vertically around him and Yue. They picked up speed, and more developed, until everything suddenly became white.

It was peaceful, for a minute. Just plain, bright white. No sounds. Nothing at all.

And then it flashed brighter and brighter and suddenly turned black.

Zuko blinked his eyes, images slowly coming to them.

"Sorry about the light, I didn't warn you."

Zuko's eyes began returning to normal. He could now make out a lush, green forest. With huge trees.

"Oh, I see he's finally arrived." Another unfamiliar voice chimed in. It sounded like a female's voice, only it didn't have that feminine touch that most girls had.

Zuko looked in the direction of the voice, but saw nothing.

"Toph, please, this isn't the time for games." Yue spoke to the air in front of her.

"Awh. It was just a little fun." Zuko watched as a bolder in front of him split in half. He watched as a figure emerged from the rubble and dust that had floated into the air when the boulder split.

Slowly, he could see the person through all the dust in the air as they got closer.

Or, she.

This 'Toph' was a shorter, black haired girl with very pale, milky green eyes. Her skin was a light tan color, and she wore black, metal, knee high boots with dark green pants. She wore a black breastplate that matched her boots, and a green shirt under that. Her hair was spiked up in the back, with bangs in the front and a green and silver bandana-like-thing on her head.

"You're the fire bender?" The girl walked up to him and just looked up at him, her eyes in a slightly off direction.

"Uhm…yeah. My names Zuko."

"Nice to know. In case you didn't hear Yue, I'm Toph. Don't fuck with me or my stuff and we'll be friends. Got it?" The girl was smirking now.

"Okay then." Zuko said in a quiet tone.

"Toph is going to accompany you to the spirit world. Well, more as if you're the one accompanying her, since she has had much more training than you." Yue looked to Zuko.

"We aren't already in the spirit world?" Zuko questioned, feeling a bit strange. His insides still had the tingling feeling, but it was much warmer. His head felt light, and he could feel energy surging through his body.

Yue giggled quietly. "No, we are not. This is the universe of the avatar. You came here to train and learn, before you leave on your mission."

"Oh." Zuko ran his fingers through his hair.

"Come, we have set up camp near a very spiritual place; the bridge between this world and the spirit world is strongest here." Yue began walking in the same direction the earth-bending girl had headed minutes earlier. Zuko followed.

After walking through dense, humid forest for a few minutes, they came across a large clearing. Most of it was green field, with a section of about twenty brown tents set up in the middle of the one half. A large camp fire was blazing outside of the tent city, and people were sitting around it.

Zuko and Yue walked across the field to the campfire.

Most of the others around the campfire were wearing some kind of armor with either green, orange, blue, red, or black clothing.

A few of the maybe ten people around the campfire noticed Zuko and Yue's approach.

"You made it! Good. We're in need of help, desperately." A white haired man stood up. He wore blue pants and a long sleeve blue shirt with a silver breastplate, silver arm bracers, and silver boots. The man walked over to Zuko and shook his hand.

"I am Master Paku, welcome to our world." He smiled at Zuko.

Paku then turned to Yue.

"Master Paku." Yue smiled at him and hugged him.

"Yue, dear, it's been so long." Paku wrapped his arms around Yue.

"Yes, it has." The white haired woman let go of Paku, and smiled at Zuko.

"Where is master Iroh?" Yue said to Paku.

"Out with a few others, scouting the shore line for any signs of activity on the islands." The old man sat down on one of the logs surrounding the fire again. Yue joined him, Zuko followed suit.

"Wait. There are enemies nearby?" Zuko said, intrigued. Yue never mentioned any kind of combat in her world.

"Yes, sort of. This campsite also serves as an invasion base for the islands of Erebus, our enemy. We've recently gone to war with them, over trade and morals and such. Do not be worried though, these are only small, barely inhabited islands. The real threat is thousands of Miles South, in the mainland." Yue didn't seem frightened or the slightest bit worried.

"Oh, I see." Zuko responded.

After Yue and Paku chatted for a few minutes, Yue stood up.

"Oh…Alright. Well, Zuko has much to learn, I shall go show him the basics. We will talk again later tonight, if you aren't busy." Yue looked at Zuko and then back at Paku while speaking.

Zuko followed Yue as she began walking to a tent further out from the others.

"How do you plan to show me the basics of bending if you are a water bender and I'm a fire bender?" Zuko watched as Yue opened a chest inside the tent that was filled with weapons, scrolls, and training dummies. Chests lined the edges of the tent.

Zuko snapped back to attention when Yue moved again. She handed him a small pile of red, silky fabric with a darker red belt and heavy, plated silver armor.

"Here. Welcome to camp. I guess you're officially part of us. Get changed in here, I'll be outside." Yue gave him a gentle smile and walked out of the tent.

Zuko watched the flap of the dark, thick brown tent flap fall back into place and then began stripping himself of all his clothes besides his plain black boxers. First he put on the silky, red long sleeve shirt and put the silver chest plate on over that. He tightened the straps so it adjusted to his body.

Surprisingly, the armor was very light; it barely felt as if it was draped across his torso and upper arms.

Then Zuko pulled his dark red cargo pants on, along with a pair of silver boots sitting on top of one of the many chests that were the proper size.

Outside of the tent, Yue sat in the tall grass, sitting with legs crossed and staring at the bright, pale moon that was more vibrant than the stars.

Her white hair was down from its usual half up do, blowing lightly in the wind, barely brushing against the greenish yellowish grass.

Zuko, having taken a seat beside Yue, also looked up at the bright, white orb floating in the dark sky.

"Zuko, do you have any idea what you draw your power from?" Yue said in a calm voice.

"My fire bending powers? Uhm… I don't know. Within?" Zuko came up with the best answer he could think of.

Yue giggled, and replied.

"You get your power from the sun. Your bending will be the strongest around noon, and you will want to sleep when the sun is and be awake when the sun is."

"So does that mean I can't fire bend at night?"

"No, your abilities will just be less powerful at night, is all. All of your strength doesn't come from the sun anyways, it comes from emotion. But, without the sun, you couldn't bend."

"How does one draw elements from emotion?" Zuko had started tapping his fingertips together again, hoping to feel that now slightly familiar spark.

It did not appear.

"I can't really answer that besides by saying you learn. You learn to pull the passion from your emotions and use it as a sort of motivation or fuel for your bending." Yue quietly added.

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in thought and still looking at the moon.

"Zuko, I should teach you to meditate. It will help you unlock your chis and let your energy flow."

Yue had moved so that she was facing him now.

"I already know how to do that, my roommate from a few years ago always did that in the morning."

"Well, it shouldn't be hard for you, then." Yue smiled. She adjusted her legs so they were in a meditation position and folded her hands over her calf. Calmly, she closed her eyes.

Zuko only stared for a few minutes to see if she were serious. When she hadn't opened her eyes for a few minutes, he knew she wasn't joking around.

Sighing, Zuko got into the same position as Yue. He folded his hands together and set them on his legs, and closed his eyes.

The thoughts in his mind eventually quieted down.

And then finally stopped all together.

….

Zuko yawned, and rolled over.

He didn't seem to be as tired as he usually was on a school morning.

Slowly, the black haired, pale man opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

For some reason, the ceiling of his bedroom looked dark, tanish brown today and his window wasn't where it usually was. The walls were also a different color, and his bed wasn't as big as usual.

Suddenly, the events of yesterday came rushing to Zuko's mind.

"Okay…so. In avatar-verse, training for battle, going to save spirits. Right."

The sun was barely visible through the thick fabric of the tent, because of how low in the sky it was.

"Must be around seven…odd." Zuko was surprised he got up around the time the sun rose, despite Yue's comment.

He pulled on his uniform, boots, and chest plate then walked outside his tent that was shared with two other men.

The smell of something herbal and spicy wafted through the air and hit Zuko's nose, where he followed the scent to the sitting area where the campfire was usually lit and found an old, gray man making tea.

In one hand he was holding the tin kettle, and the other was below it, casting orange and red and yellow flames that reflected off of the tea pot.

"Greetings, fellow soldier. Care to join me for a cup of energizing tea?"

"I don't see why not, barely anyone else is awake." Zuko sat down on the same log as the old man, but kept his distance.

"Most of the other fire benders will rise in about half an hour, like they usually do. I've always been a bit of an early bird, myself." The smell of the tea became stronger in the air, more of the spice coming through than before.

"I guess I'm turning into one, too." Zuko said, trying to keep the conversation going for the sake of making an acquaintance.

A pair of light brown eyes found Zuko's, and then they searched the rest of him over.

"You're Zuko? The double spirit?" The old man questioned.

"Yeah, that'd be me. And you are?"

"General Iroh, but just Iroh to you. I am to be your fire bending teacher, by order of the war council." Iroh flashed Zuko a warm smile. The tea pot began whistling, and Zuko nearly laughed as the old, slightly chubby man began searching around frantically for something to put the tea in.

"Oh, Agni! I've burnt it!" The man nearly yelled. Finally, he came across a set of tin cups.

Zuko had by now covered his mouth with his hand, barely containing his laughter. It was quite the sight to see a gray haired man dancing around, throwing this and that in every direction, with a worried expression on his face.

Iroh took a seat with the cups in one hand. He slowly poured the steaming, fragrant tea into one of the cups and handed it to Zuko.

"It is cinnamon and jasmine." Iroh told Zuko before taking a sip of his tea, despite its most likely being too hot.

Zuko waited a few minutes before sipping his tea.

The tea wasn't bad at all, and Zuko finished his in only a few minutes.

He barely noticed when Yue sat down next to him until she also asked Iroh for a cup of tea.

"Of course, dear." Iroh looked around for a minute, trying to find a cup, but then laughed when he couldn't.

"Oh, it's no problem." Yue smiled at Iroh and bent some tea from the tin kettle into an orb between her hands. Every now and then, she would make a trail of tea go to her mouth, her fingers lightly dancing around in the air, directing the water.

"Yue, am I asleep in the other world?" Zuko looked at Yue while she was bending her tea.

"Oh, no. I apologize; I never explained what would happen to you. You aren't asleep, no; you're most likely doing what you would normally do at this time. There is still an amount of your soul left in the other world, it just isn't as strong. Your full personality may not be showing." Yue explained.

Zuko was glad to know he wouldn't sleep for a few weeks. Or however long the mission would take, but still felt strange knowing only part of him was in this world.

After a few more men joined and the tea, along with a breakfast the people around the campfire pit put together, was gone, Iroh began asking Zuko about his bending.

"My fingers glow, and tingle. But that's it." Zuko explained, disappointed in himself a bit.

"Well then, Zuko, I suggest we get to work on your bending, then." Iroh said with a smile.

….

Well, was it good? I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a comment, and thanks for reading! Erebus was greek for darkness, so I used it for the name of the enemy. Anyways, till next time! : ) Thanks again for reading!


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